Shortly after 706 commenced service, BellSouth returned several exurban areas of Atlanta to 404 that had previously been drawn into the new area code. The boundary was redrawn in such a way that Columbus and the surrounding area was cut off from the rest of the 706 territory, making 706 one of the few area codes that is not contiguous. Despite the split, 404 was close to exhaustion, forcing the Georgia Public Service Commission to switch most of Atlanta's suburbs over to 770 sooner than it had planned.

In June 2005, the GPSC announced that 706 had nearly exhausted its capacity for new telephone exchangeprefixes. The supply of numbers was further limited because the 706 territory includes portions of three LATAs that spill into neighboring states. The Atlanta LATA, which includes Columbus, spills into Alabama. The northern portion is split between the Atlanta and Chattanooga LATAs. The Augusta LATA spills into South Carolina. On June 24, 2005, the NANPA assigned area code 762 for this purpose. However, the Columbus area was not large enough for its own area code, but was too large to stay in 706. For this reason, it was decided to make 762 an overlay, with 10-digit dialing to be allowed on September 3. On April 1, 2007, 10-digit dialing became mandatory in the 706/762 territory.

This is the third time that the GPSC has flip-flopped on its policy for deciding how new area codes would be assigned. Atlanta's suburbs were split into 770, but then both 404 and 770 were overlaid with 678, and cellphones (originally 404 only) can now have any of those no matter where in the metro area. Southern Georgia was then split three ways instead of an overlay.

Despite the rapid growth in 706/762's main section (particularly the northern portion), it is nowhere near exhausting. Under current projections, it is expected to remain in its unusual, non-contiguous state until 2038.[1]